Internet Content Pricing Model

ABSTRACT

A system is provided for performing processes for allocating compensation to third party partners hosting web sites based on a portion of revenue from sales to the person or entity linking from such third party site, where in one embodiment the compensation is also a function of the relative percentage of traffic driven by all partners, and where in another embodiment the compensation is also a function of the relative percentage of revenue driven by all partners.

BACKGROUND

The invention is directed to a novel system and methods for sale ofdigitized content including, music, software, and videos.

There exist business practices for sale of downloadable audio files,games, and other software. The Apple App Store as a part of iTunes isthe best example of such a system. However, as these systems grow innumber of applications, both customers and authors share in frustrationof identifying the “good” apps. Prices are driven toward $0, as lowpricing is necessary to achieve volume, and the market has become a lossleader for larger game studios to promote their titles on otherplatforms where they can control pricing or for independent developerswho accept recognition in place of revenue.

While the prior art includes systems for sale of software and otherdigital content (audio, video, e-books, and other) online, and while thefree market as a means of supply and demand price setting, there are nosystems that combine these in an automated fashion. Furthermore, one ofthe largest complaints among developers and other digital contentauthors on popular downloading websites is that it is difficult togenerate sufficient revenue, because prices are driven toward $0 inorder to attract customers. Rating systems exist, but are too subjectiveand sales volumes remain largely a function of price.

Thus, there is a significant unmet need for an alternative system thatenables in-demand products to sustain higher prices. As will be seen,the invention provides such a system and related methods of operation,in an elegant manner.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1A shows a flow chart for a system configured according to theinvention.

FIG. 1B shows a general network architecture for a system configuredaccording to the invention.

FIG. 2 shows a flow chart for method for use in a system configuredaccording to the invention.

FIG. 3 shows a flow chart for method for use in a system configuredaccording to the invention.

FIG. 4 shows a flow chart for method for use in a system configuredaccording to the invention.

FIG. 5 shows a flow chart for method for use in a system configuredaccording to the invention.

FIG. 6 shows a flow chart for method for use in a system configuredaccording to the invention.

FIG. 7 shows a flow chart for method for use in a system configuredaccording to the invention.

FIG. 8 shows a flow chart for method for use in a system configuredaccording to the invention.

FIG. 9 shows a flow chart for method for use in a system configuredaccording to the invention.

FIG. 10 shows a flow chart for method for use in a system configuredaccording to the invention.

FIG. 11 shows a flow chart for method for use in a system configuredaccording to the invention.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

As described in the embodiments and examples below, the invention is notlimited to any particular configuration or orientation described, but isonly limited to the appended claims, their equivalents, and also futureclaims submitted in this and related applications and their equivalents.Also, many configurations, dimensions, geometries, and other featuresand physical and operational characteristics of any particularembodiment or example may vary in different applications withoutdeparting from the spirit and scope of the invention, which, again, aredefined by the appended claims, their equivalents, and also futureclaims submitted in this and related applications and their equivalents.

In the following description, numerous specific details are set forth inorder to provide a thorough understanding of the invention. However, itwill be apparent to one skilled in the art that the invention can bepracticed without these specific details. In other instances, well knowncircuits, components, algorithms, and processes have not been shown indetail or have been illustrated in schematic or block diagram form inorder not to obscure the invention in unnecessary detail. Additionally,for the most part, details concerning materials, tooling, processtiming, circuit layout, and die design have been omitted inasmuch assuch details are not considered necessary to obtain a completeunderstanding of the invention and are considered to be within theunderstanding of persons of ordinary skill in the relevant art. Certainterms are used throughout the following description and claims to referto particular system components. As one skilled in the art willappreciate, components may be referred to by different names. Thisdocument does not intend to distinguish between components that differin name, but not function. In the following discussion and in theclaims, the terms “including” and “comprising” are used in an open-endedfashion, and thus should be interpreted to mean “including, but notlimited to . . . .”

Embodiments of the invention are described herein. Those of ordinaryskill in the art will realize that the following detailed description ofthe invention is illustrative only and is not intended to be in any waylimiting. Other embodiments of the invention will readily suggestthemselves to such skilled persons having the benefit of thisdisclosure. Reference will be made in detail to implementations of theinvention as illustrated in the accompanying drawings. The samereference indicators will be used throughout the drawings and thefollowing detailed description to refer to the same or like parts.

In the interest of clarity, not all of the routine features of theimplementations described herein are shown and described. It will, ofcourse, be appreciated that in the development of any such actualimplementation, numerous implementation-specific decisions must be madein order to achieve the developer's specific goals. Moreover, it will beappreciated that such a development effort might be complex andtime-consuming, but would nevertheless be a routine undertaking ofengineering for those of ordinary skill in the art having the benefit ofthis disclosure.

Provided is a system for delivering downloadable digital content thatrewards authors and content owners using a unique pricing model. As usedherein, authors may include and be interchangeable with content ownersthat may or may not have authored content, including content providerscould just as easily be musicians, programmers, or video/filmdirectors—anything that lends itself to digital distribution. Inparticular embodiments and examples below are a system for deliveringdigital content using a price setting formula such whereby pricesincrease as volume of downloads or purchases increase and pricesdecreases as volumes decrease. Such a system fairly rewards vendors andauthors based on the market appeal of their product while simultaneouslycommunicating to buyers that a given product's price has been fairly setby genuine interest from other like-minded customers. In one embodiment,the system correlates price to value in a way that is not currently doneby sellers in mass digital markets, defined here as any system offeringmore products than can be easily browsed and downloaded. These productsmay be comparable to each other, such as digital games, books, or musicof a given genre, and may be offered by different sellers. Traditionalmarketing involves price-setting as a function of cost of goods, theproducer's desired margin, a string of value-add channel partners alongthe way, and the marketer's sense on the reaction of the market toprice—higher prices may communicate quality, lower prices may enablereaching a different demographic, split pricing may allow one company toflank a competitive product, etc. However, these traditional approachesare not effective in the Mass Double-Sided Digital (MDSD) market, wherethere are large numbers of both buyers and sellers, but unlike acommodity market, the sellers' products are each unique (i.e., withcommodities a pound of flour, beets, or silver from one farmer or mineris interchangeable with a pound of flour or beets from another, but withauthored digital content, one punk rock song, poem, or sci-fi novel isnot interchangeable with another, even if from the same author).Furthermore, on the production side, the cost of production isinsubstantial, channel partners can be removed from all but the salesfunction (the web store), and promotion is nearly impossible as there issimply not enough available media for the thousands of availableproducts to even reach consumers (iTunes has millions of songs, the AppStore has over 200,000 applications as of mid-2010).

This invention is a solution to this modern capitalist conundrum of thedigital age. In one embodiment, the author/creator posts his work to acentral server. Optionally, the author may set a starting price or aminimum price floor (such non-automatic prices will always be noted assuch to the customers). Depending on the market segment, the systemfeatures a ranged set of default values that could range from free tothe typically accepted upper range for such a product. The system maystart with a conservative upper range. For audiobooks this upper rangemight be for example $19.99, and for songs it might be for example$1.29, or $8.99 and $0.89, respectively for works from unknown authorsor music artists.

A set of stratified pricing values fill the range between lowest andhighest. The starting number of steps can vary, but 7 is the default.Similarly, the differences between them can also vary. Consumers maypurchase via download. If the author was allowed to set the price (step2 above), consumers can see the price and if it is the original author'sprice (in which case they know it has not been set by market interest)or set by the market, pursuant to the system described herein. Pricesmay be adjusted based on the number of downloads for each title at thecurrent price during the preceding unit of time (Δt, default is 2 weeks)and the percentage of download volume compared with all other worksavailable in that genre. Once a product's price is adjusted, it isassured that it will stay in its new pricing strata for at least thedefault unit of time (Δt).

In one example, the default is that the percentile breaks would belogarithmic based on volume, but optionally could be evenly spacedlinearly, follow some other formula, or even be selected manually. Thesecould also optionally be stratified by genre, recognizing that somecategories may be smaller, but still comprise a market segment willingto pay more for quality work (e.g., historical audiobooks could becompared only with other historical audiobooks, rather than with allaudiobooks). Other non-default options include a longer trailing periodof volume calculation to reduce pricing volatility.

In another example, if the number of purchases at the top tier is morethan a defined amount relative to the next lower tier (default is half),another higher tier is added automatically setting the volume limit forthat tier to be the top segment as defined (default is the top third).The actual dollar amount of the increase could either be $1, any otherset increase amount, the next step in a pre-defined set of tieredpricing, or functionally calculated based on the previous tiers (e.g.,previous top tier+20%).

Referring now to the figures, examples of systems and methods ofdownloading and selling digital content according to the broad inventionare provided. In any of these examples, the particular process steps areset forth for illustration, and those skilled in the art will understandthat the process steps may or may not be performed in the particularorder as illustrated in the figures or as described below.

FIG. 1A shows a flow chart for a system configured according to theinvention. As can be seen, the system 100 includes an internetstorefront 102 that may be frequented by users to purchase contentonline. The storefront 102 is configured to receive content from acentral content database 104, where authors store or otherwise submitworks that are digitally formatted and submitted via an automated system106, such as web uploading, email transfer, FTP site, or other means.Once a user purchases an author's content, a portion of the downloadedrevenue is paid to the author or content provider via 108. This may beeither immediately per transaction or in batches on a weekly, monthly,or other basis. In operation, the store then looks up the price via analgorithm 112 that establishes prices for each content title or contentproduct, and provides the storefront the price for sale based on themarket behavior of the product. The consumers 110 select and downloadcontent, paying through established accounts with the web store or athird party, such as PayPal.

FIG. 1B shows a general network architecture for a system configuredaccording to the invention. The internet and other networks 122 are thecenter of the marketing infrastructure, and these allow consumer systems124 to access other entities on the Internet such as Internet/webstorefront servers 126. Payment entities 128 such as PayPal™, and otherentities, may be utilized by the buyers and sellers to buy and sellcontent via the internet, allowing a user to purchase content withoutthe need to physically enter a store to purchase and pickup a physicaldevice or storage device that has content stored thereon. According tothe invention, an authoring compensation system may be provided via asystem that includes an author system 130, which may simply be anotheruser or content provider (whether or not an actual author, the contentmay be owned by a content provider that may not in fact be a contentowner, and the content providers could just as easily be musicians,programmers, or video/film directors—anything that lends itself todigital distribution) that is uploading content for sale to other users.The author system may upload content to a content database 132 forstorage to be later downloaded to consumers via storefronts or othermeans to enable a sale of the content to the user and later compensationto the storefront and the author. According to one embodiment, a priceserver 134 may be included to set prices for the content based onpurchase behavior. The price server may be a separate entity thatcommunicates directly with the internet or other networks 122, or it maybe incorporated in other entities such as the content database server132, the internet storefront 126, the payment server 128, or otherentities, and other combinations and permutations of these and otherentities may be incorporated into a single entity without departing fromthe invention as claimed. In fact, all three of these entities and otherentities may be incorporated together in one physical entity to performthe desired operations according to the invention.

FIG. 2 shows a flow chart for method of looking up a price for a digitaldownload product that includes pricing methods for use in a systemconfigured according to the invention. The system 200 starts in step202, where it is queried whether the author has set a price. In oneembodiment, the author may not be allowed to set the price, but will besubject to automatic price setting in the system. There is also ahybrid—where the author sets an initial price, but after that, thesystem takes over. In effect, in such an embodiment, it would only go to#204 if it's within the original Δ{tilde over (□)}

In one embodiment, Δ□ may be set by default to be 2 weeks. The priceschange every 2 weeks. It could also be set to change not after a fixedperiod of time elapses, but more rapidly if the download rate issufficient to justify it (e.g. if in 1 day a given title receives asmany downloads as a title from the tier above it received in the prior 2week period, it could be immediately upgraded to the next higher tier).

If the author has set a price, it is returned in step 204, typically tothe storefront for display or delivery to a prospective purchaser. Ifnot, the process queries in step 206 whether a price has previously beenset by an author, whether the same, similar or a different author andwhether the same, similar or different product. If it has beenpreviously set by a previous pass through the subroutine, and if apredetermined amount of time has NOT passed in step 214, then theexisting price is returned in step 216. If the minimum time has passed,then a genre-based prices lookup table is queried in step 218, a call tothe create/destroy top price tier subroutine is performed in step 220 toassess whether to split the current top tier and add a new one, orremove the top tier, merging its members with the former second tier,and the lookup price for each title is returned in step 222 wherein theprice is selected from a table specific to the title's master genre(e.g., songs, novels, short stories) and based on the title's rankingwithin its specific genre (e.g., vampire romance novels, hard sci-finovels, historical fiction novels), such as by means of one suchexample, in this case for books:

Price Ranking % Books Novellas Shorts Flash 50.00% $ —  $ —  $ —  $ — 25.00% $ 0.29 $ 0.29 $ 0.24 $ 0.09 10.00% $ 0.49 $ 0.49 $ 0.39 $ 0.145.00% $ 0.99 $ 0.89 $ 0.69 $ 0.19 4.00% $ 2.99 $ 1.99 $ 0.99 $ 0.293.00% $ 4.99 $ 2.99 $ 1.49 $ 0.49 2.00% $ 6.99 $ 3.99 $ 1.99 $ 0.791.00% $ 8.99 $ 4.99 $ 2.99 $ 0.99

Referring back to step 206, if the price has not previously been set,then there is a query whether there is an advance discussion value instep 208. If there is, then the advance discussion value is returned instep 212. In one example, tracking titles as keywords on a socialnetwork allows a system to see that a given title is receiving a lot ofbuzz in advance of its release and therefore should not start with a $0price. For example, if there were another Harry Potter book about to bereleased, advance discussions on Facebook would occur. Based on thenumber of such references, the system could set a starting price fromthe table for a novel, say $6.99 or $8.99.

If not in step 206, then $0.00 is returned as the value in step 210.

FIG. 3 shows a flow chart 300 for a method for use in a systemconfigured according to the invention. In step 302, it is queriedwhether a price has previously been set. If it has, it is queriedwhether a predetermined time has been set in step 304. If not, then theexisting price is returned in step 306. If a minimum time has passedthen a genre-based price lookup table is queried in step 308. Acreate/destroy a top rice tier process is performed in step 312, and thelookup price is returned. Back to step 302, if a price has not beenpreviously set, then in step 314 it is queried whether there is anadvanced discussion value that would set an initial price. If yes, thenthe advance discussion value is retrieved and used for the initial pricein step 316, and if not, then $0.00 is returned in step 318.

FIG. 4 shows a flow chart 400 for a method for use in a systemconfigured according to the invention. In step 402, it is queriedwhether a price has previously been set in step. If it has, then in step404 it is queried whether a predetermined time has been set. If not,then the existing price is returned in step 406. If a minimum time haspassed then a genre-based price lookup table is queried in step 408 anda lookup price is returned in step 410. Back to step 402, if a price hasnot been previously set, then in step 412 it is queried whether there isan advanced discussion value that would set an initial price. If yes,then the advance discussion value is retrieved and used for the initialprice in step 414, and if not, then $0.00 is returned in step 416.

FIG. 5 shows a flow chart for a method for use in a system configuredaccording to the invention. In step 502, it is queried whether a pricehas previously been set in step. If it has, then in step 504 it isqueried whether a predetermined time has been set. If not, then theexisting price is returned in step 506. If a minimum time has passedthen a genre-based price lookup table is queried in step 508, acreate/destroy top price tier is done in step 510 and a lookup price isreturned in step 510. Back to step 502, if a price has not beenpreviously set, then in step 514 $0.00 is returned.

FIG. 6 shows a flow chart for a method for use in a system configuredaccording to the invention. In step 602, it is queried whether theauthor set the price. If yes, then the author price is returned in 604.If not, then it is queried whether the price has previously been set in606. If no, then $0.00 is returned in 618. If yes in step 606, then itis queried in 608 whether a minimum time has passed, and if no then theexisting price is returned in step 610. If yes in 608, then a genrebased price lookup table is process is done in step 612, acreate/destroy top price tier is performed in step 616, and the lookuptable price is returned in 614.

FIG. 7 shows a flow chart for method for use in a system configuredaccording to the invention. In step 702, it is queried whether theauthor set the price. If yes, then the author price is returned in 704.If not, then it is queried whether the price has previously been set in706. If yes in step 706, then it is queried in 708 whether a minimumtime has passed, and if no then the existing price is returned in step710. If yes in 708, then a genre based price lookup table is process isdone in step 712, and the lookup table price is returned in 714. If noin step 706, then it is queried if there is an advance discussion valuein step 716, and if yes then an advance discussion value is obtained instep 718 and used to set an initial price, and if no in 716 then $0.00is returned in step 720.

FIG. 8 shows a flow chart for method for use in a system configuredaccording to the invention. In step 802, it is queried whether theauthor set the price. If yes, then the author price is returned in 804.If not, then it is queried whether the price has previously been set in806. If no, then $0.00 is returned in 818. If yes in step 806, then itis queried in 808 whether a minimum time has passed, and if no then theexisting price is returned in step 810. If yes in 812, then a genrebased price lookup table is process is done in step 812, acreate/destroy top price tier is performed in step 816, and the lookuptable price is returned in 814. If no in 806, then $0.00 is returned instep 816.

FIG. 9A shows a flow chart for method for use in a system configuredaccording to the invention. In step 902, it is queried whether a pricehas previously been set in step. If it has, then in step 904 it isqueried whether a predetermined time has been set. If not, then theexisting price is returned in step 906. If a minimum time has passedthen a genre-based price lookup table is queried in step 908 and alookup price is returned in step 910. Back to step 902, if a price hasnot been previously set, then $0.00 is returned in step 916.

FIG. 9B shows a flow chart for method for use in a system configuredaccording to the invention. In step 922, it is queried whether a pricehas previously been set in step. If it has, then in step 924 it isqueried whether the downloaded rate is greater than the higher tier orless than the lower tier. If not, then the existing price is returned instep 926. If yes, then a genre-based price lookup table is queried instep 928 and a lookup price is returned in step 930. Back to step 922,if a price has not been previously set, then $0.00 is returned in step932.

FIG. 10 illustrates a process in which top tiers are created ordestroyed. In step 1002, the volume of the top tier is compared to thevolume of the second tier. If the top tier download volume is greaterthan or equal to that of the second tier, than a new top tier is createdin step 1006. If the top tier is less then the second tier, then the toptier is destroyed, with all titles being re-assigned to the remainingtiers according to their relative popularity. This is the preferredmethod when all titles are re-tiered and priced at the same time afterevery unit of time (t).

FIG. 11 illustrates a process 1100 in which the advance discussionprocess is performed. In step 1101, the social networking partner datais received. In step 1102, the count frequency of the title or authorname in data is measured. In step 1103, an advance discussion parameteris set. In step 1104, a process is performed to lookup an initial tierbased on advance discussion. In step 1105, the initial tier is returned.

-   1. A software system that calculates prices for a large collection    of similar items from competing developers or producers available    for purchase as digital downloads, where such price calculations are    based on the relative volumes of downloads of each item in a prior    time period and further where such prices have a fixed or flexible    number of tiers.-   2. The software system of #Error! Reference source not found. that    sets the prices for a web site that offers price information for    products available for digital download.-   3. The software system of #Error! Reference source not found. that    sets the prices for a retail location that offers products available    for digital download (e.g., music stores that let people select    songs to make their own CD's).-   4. A software system similar to #Error! Reference source not found.,    but applied to similar physical items instead of digital    downloadable content, where price floors are established as a    minimum markup from cost.-   5. The software system of #Error! Reference source not found. that    sets the prices for a web site that offers similar physical items    for purchase.-   6. A software system similar to #Error! Reference source not found.,    but applied to similar services instead of digital downloadable    content, where price floors are established as a minimum markup on    an time-based (e.g., hourly) or project basis.-   7. The software system of #Error! Reference source not found. that    sets the prices for a web site that offers similar services for    purchase.-   8. A pricing system for a retail or service business that applies    claims #4Error! Reference source not found. and/or #6Error!    Reference source not found. to physical products available for sale.-   9. The software systems of any of #Error! Reference source not    found. —#8 where there is a manual override for the store or web    site to change the number of tiers, the pricing on the tiers, or    otherwise modify the results of the automatic pricing for any    purpose.-   10. A method based on any of #Error! Reference source not found.    —#Error! Reference source not found.-   11. A method that uses existing digital recording tools in    combination with any of #Error! Reference source not found. —#10 to    enable simplified posting of audiobooks, music, games, or other    electronic media directly by authors and the website and simple    tools that handle such development and posting.-   12. An option for the author to override the automatic pricing as    calculated by the software per #Error! Reference source not found.    Or its derivative claims and set his own.-   13. An option for the author to override the automatic pricing as    calculated by the software per his #Error! Reference source not    found. or its derivative claims and set his own, but where the store    or web site communicates to shoppers, customers, etc. that the    pricing has been set manually.-   14. Reporting tools that show historical revenue, download volume,    etc. for the developer's posted works for any of #Error! Reference    source not found. —#Error! Reference source not found.-   15. Reporting tools that show historical revenue, download volume,    etc. across all elements offered for sale for the store/web site to    analyze overall performance for any of #Error! Reference source not    found. —#11.-   16. Reporting tools that show historical revenue, download volume,    etc. across all elements offered for sale for the store/web site to    analyze overall performance for any of #Error! Reference source not    found. —#11.

While certain exemplary embodiments have been described and shown in theaccompanying drawings, it is to be understood that such embodiments aremerely illustrative of and not restrictive on the broad invention, andthat this invention is not limited to the specific constructions andarrangements shown and described, since various other modifications mayoccur to those ordinarily skilled in the art. Hence, alternativearrangements and/or quantities of, connections of various sorts,computer network systems that include arrangements and quantities oftransistors to form circuits, and other features and functions can occurwithout departing from the spirit and scope of the invention. Similarly,components not explicitly mentioned in this specification can beincluded in various embodiments of this invention without departing fromthe spirit and scope of the invention. Also, different process steps andintegrated circuit manufacture operations described as being performedto make certain components in various embodiments of this invention can,as would be apparent to one skilled in the art, be readily performed inwhole or in part to make different components or in differentconfigurations of components not explicitly mentioned in thisspecification without departing from the spirit and scope of theinvention. Accordingly, the specification and drawings are to beregarded in an illustrative rather than a restrictive sense.

While certain exemplary embodiments have been described and shown in theaccompanying drawings, it is to be understood that such embodiments aremerely illustrative of and not restrictive on the broad invention, andthat this invention is not limited to the specific constructions andarrangements shown and described, since various other modifications mayoccur to those ordinarily skilled in the art. Accordingly, thespecification and drawings are to be regarded in an illustrative ratherthan a restrictive sense.

Again, the invention has application in many areas, particularly ininternet storefront systems. Furthermore, the invention may extend todevices, systems and methods that would benefit from the invention.Those skilled in the art will understand that different combinations andpermutations of the components described herein are possible within thespirit and scope of the invention, which is defined by the appendedClaims, their equivalents, and also Claims presented in relatedapplications in the future and their equivalents.

The invention may also involve a number of functions to be performed bya computer processor, such as a microprocessor. The microprocessor maybe a specialized or dedicated microprocessor that is configured toperform particular tasks according to the invention, by executingmachine-readable software code that defines the particular tasksembodied by the invention. The microprocessor may also be configured tooperate and communicate with other devices such as direct memory accessmodules, memory storage devices, Internet related hardware, and otherdevices that relate to the transmission of data in accordance with theinvention. The software code may be configured using software formatssuch as Java, C++, XML (Extensible Mark-up Language) and other languagesthat may be used to define functions that relate to operations ofdevices required to carry out the functional operations related to theinvention. The code may be written in different forms and styles, manyof which are known to those skilled in the art. Different code formats,code configurations, styles and forms of software programs and othermeans of configuring code to define the operations of a microprocessorin accordance with the invention will not depart from the spirit andscope of the invention.

Within the different types of devices, such as laptop or desktopcomputers, hand held devices with processors or processing logic, andalso possibly computer servers or other devices that utilize theinvention, there exist different types of memory devices for storing andretrieving information while performing functions according to theinvention. Cache memory devices are often included in such computers foruse by the central processing unit as a convenient storage location forinformation that is frequently stored and retrieved. Similarly, apersistent memory is also frequently used with such computers formaintaining information that is frequently retrieved by the centralprocessing unit, but that is not often altered within the persistentmemory, unlike the cache memory. Main memory is also usually includedfor storing and retrieving larger amounts of information such as dataand software applications configured to perform functions according tothe invention when executed by the central processing unit. These memorydevices may be configured as random access memory (RAM), static randomaccess memory (SRAM), dynamic random access memory (DRAM), flash memory,and other memory storage devices that may be accessed by a centralprocessing unit to store and retrieve information. During data storageand retrieval operations, these memory devices are transformed to havedifferent states, such as different electrical charges, differentmagnetic polarity, and the like. Thus, systems and methods configuredaccording to the invention as described herein enable the physicaltransformation of these memory devices. Accordingly, the invention asdescribed herein is directed to novel and useful systems and methodsthat, in one or more embodiments, are able to transform the memorydevice into a different state. The invention is not limited to anyparticular type of memory device, or any commonly used protocol forstoring and retrieving information to and from these memory devices,respectively.

The term “machine-readable medium” should be taken to include a singlemedium or multiple media (e.g., a centralized or distributed database,and/or associated caches and servers) that store the one or more sets ofinstructions. The term “machine-readable medium” shall also be taken toinclude any medium that is capable of storing, encoding or carrying aset of instructions for execution by the machine and that causes themachine to perform any one or more of the methodologies of the presentinvention. The machine-readable medium includes any mechanism thatprovides (i.e., stores and/or transmits) information in a form readableby a machine (e.g., a computer, PDA, cellular telephone, etc.). Forexample, a machine-readable medium includes memory (such as describedabove); magnetic disk storage media; optical storage media; flash memorydevices; biological electrical, mechanical systems; electrical, optical,acoustical or other form of propagated signals (e.g., carrier waves,infrared signals, digital signals, etc.). The device or machine-readablemedium may include a micro-electromechanical system (MEMS),nanotechnology devices, organic, holographic, solid-state memory deviceand/or a rotating magnetic or optical disk. The device ormachine-readable medium may be distributed when partitions ofinstructions have been separated into different machines, such as acrossan interconnection of computers or as different virtual machines.

While certain exemplary embodiments have been described and shown in theaccompanying drawings, it is to be understood that such embodiments aremerely illustrative of and not restrictive on the broad invention, andthat this invention not be limited to the specific constructions andarrangements shown and described, since various other modifications mayoccur to those ordinarily skilled in the art. Accordingly, thespecification and drawings are to be regarded in an illustrative ratherthan a restrictive sense.

Reference in the specification to “an embodiment,” “one embodiment,”“some embodiments,” or “other embodiments” means that a particularfeature, structure, or characteristic described in connection with theembodiments is included in at least some embodiments, but notnecessarily all embodiments. The various appearances “an embodiment,”“one embodiment,” or “some embodiments” are not necessarily allreferring to the same embodiments. If the specification states acomponent, feature, structure, or characteristic “may”, “might”, or“could” be included, that particular component, feature, structure, orcharacteristic is not required to be included. If the specification orClaim refers to “a” or “an” element, that does not mean there is onlyone of the element. If the specification or Claims refer to “anadditional” element, that does not preclude there being more than one ofthe additional element.

The methods, systems and devices include improved systems and methodsfor downloading digital content and providing an infrastructure forcompensation to authors and other monetization operations. Such systemswould greatly benefit from increased convenience for both buyers andsellers. Although this embodiment is described and illustrated in thecontext of devices, systems and related methods of downloading authoredcontent including music and software applications, the scope of theinvention extends to other applications where such functions are useful.Furthermore, while the foregoing description has been with reference toparticular embodiments of the invention, it will be appreciated thatthese are only illustrative of the invention and that changes may bemade to those embodiments without departing from the principles of theinvention, the scope of which is defined by the appended Claims andtheir equivalents.

1. In a system comprising a processor configured to process digitalsoftware code, memory configured to store software code and data, andapplications configured to perform processes for allocating compensationto third party partners hosting web sites based on a portion of revenuefrom sales to the person or entity linking from such third party site.where the compensation is also a function of the relative percentage oftraffic driven by all partners; and where the compensation is also afunction of the relative percentage of revenue driven by all partners.